When Worlds collide and Hearts get broken
by 000 Alwina 000
Summary: Lucy is a british ghoul stranded in Tokyo. She made ends meet, now she struggles to find a meaning for her life. Shinji is an unhealthily ambitious rank two investigator who is willing to take risks for a promotion. Will they fight, learn to hate or understand each other? (Also is observing a female ghoul stalking?) Two individuals caught in a world of ambiguities.
1. Paths Cross

8:30 S _uspect stops in front of Mia's Colour and Style Saloon. Watches for ten minutes, then walks on with increased speed. Buys a coffee to go at Starbulls. Arrives at workplace_

9:15 _Works without notable incidents, no intimate relations with colleagues observed, no eating or drinking at workplace_

13:30 _Takes half hour break eating a sandwich at nearby Cafe, visits restroom after eating._

He underlined the last sentence. Scratching his neck he yawned. Nothing too suspicious considering she had been up since 6 in the morning, which meant he himself had been up since 4. He wanted to say he was too old for this but at 22 it was too early for that. Remembering his superiors encouraging remarks when he assigned him to this investigation he changed the black coat for the usual white one.

Looking at the file he wondered. What if this young woman, Lucy Mizuki really was a Ghoul? He could celebrate his first accomplishment and extinguish her. On the other hand... he didn't really want her to be a ghoul. No... He couldn't image her to be a monster. The modest life she lived, the hard working attitude she showed made him want her to be human. Which again would be embarrassing, having stalked a girl. For almost a week. But he didn't allow himself to think that way. She could be a human eating monster. The landlady had seen her return home late at night with blood dripping from her arm. The next day however, she semed unharmed. Shinji had questioned the old woman himself and didn't think too high of her. She was the kind of person who had nothing else to do then stand at the window and watch the passerby's.

This was the last day of the observation and he would confront her this evening if she still hadn't shown any treacherous signs. He fastened the grip on his quinque and his face, that looked older then it was, took a resolute expression.

The CCG had suffered a lot of damage by the ghouls lately. One of the effects of that had been less recruits and more dead investigators. Working without a partner at his age was not entirely due to his talent, (even though he'd love to flatter himself) it was because of a shortage of staff.

But the 19th ward was rather peaceful these days, he was lucky to start his career here. He shivered when remembering funeral of a good friend at the academy. The coffin had been empty. Katou had not simply been killed. He had been devoured, eaten while still alive. On that day he had almost quit his job, if it wasn't for another investigator attending the funeral. Amon Koutarou. That man didn't let the sorrow weaken him. He drew his strength from it. The tall figue with the strong arms and stern look was an inspiration for him. He had to catch up to him, work with him, learn from him.

After she finished her part time at five, she stretched her arms and leg. Having changed back into comfy clothes felt like regaining freedom after the breathtaking corset of the maid costume. Breathtaking it was indeed, she had seen many creepy men behave like apes today too. But it paid well and no questions were asked as long as she appeared on two days a week and and looked young and pretty.

Some elderly people did yoga in one corner of the park. She copied a pose and was surprised how hard it was. _Damn, you can't begin to get comfortable_. _It will kill you in the end_. She went on to the library to study for the exam next week. Her studies in psychology and politics went surprisingly well, considering she had hardly ever gone to a normal school and had faked her certificate. She was at the top of most courses but always made sure not to be exceptional, not to stick out too much, never to show that she was somewhat different.

 _"Hannah Arendt further writes that for an authoritarian regime, the trouth can be the most dangerous threat. Knowledge and facts from outside the ideological boundaries of the authoritarian movement can disrupt the linear hierarchies of national discourses..."_ She read the sentence again. Did that make sense? Sometimes she felt uncertain if she spoke the same language as everyone else. Like being able to understand others but every reply would never be heard or understood.

 _Oh come on. Don't get distracted by whimsy thoughts. You have a goal._ Giving her cheeks a slight slap she tried to focus.

At eight she left the library to get coffee.

Then her heart stopped.

She had bumped into a tall, muscular man around her age with black hair and bright amber eyes.

His looks were not the problem. The problem was his coat and the small silver suitcase he carried.

He was a dove.

Covering the fear screaming inside her to run, to flee or to kill, with surprise of having bumped into a handsome man on university grounds, she gulped her emotions down and faked a shy smile. "Oh.. um.. sorry"

This is the introductory chapter. Two young individuals with lots of amitions that will undoubtedly stand in each other's way. But will they collide? Or can they advance together? We will see. This is set shortly after the time that Mado died, so pretty much at the beginning of everything. OCs will meet the original characters soon and engage in the plot line.

Critiques are welcome!


	2. Confrontation

***Please note that I'll indicate a change of point of view with some stars between the lines ;) ***

Japanese expressions like _masaka_ will be underlined and explained at the bottom, but you'll probably know most from anime if you watch sub. Sometimes a simple "Yes" cannot express what an enthousiastic Haaai sounds like in japanese. So when I'm at a loss to tranlate small expressions to english I'll just write them like that. Please let me know what you think :)

Also I'll not write Miss Mizuki but rather Mizuki-San, it mean the same (almost) but sounds more natural to me in the context of a story set in Japan.

* * *

"Oh… I'm sorry." She tried to walk on as though nothing happened. Just an ordinary man she met by chance.

"Mizuki-San? Do you have a minute?"

Ok. He means you. Stay calm! She bit her lip and send a silent prayer to the universe before turning around.

"Do we know each other?" She mimicked a thoughtful pose.

Shinji shook his head and watched her carefully. She seemed puzzled and surprised, alarmed maybe, but not panicked.

"I don't believe so. My Name is Shinji Nakayama. I work for the CCG. Would you mind answering some questions? It will not take too long." Of _course, if you refuse it will be more than suspicious. This is not a question._

Lucy cringed deep inside her. A knot formed in her stomach. Her hand played nervously with her hair.

"CCG? So, it's about Ghouls? … creepy" Her hand gripped her shoulder and massaged it. „I was just about to take a study break. If you don't mind you can accompany me to the café downstairs."

He just nodded, and she awkwardly turned to the stairs. It was as though she had unlearned to walk. Every step was an act of balance. How could she behave in the most human way? And in the Cafe, should she order coffee? Was that too suspicious?

On the other hand, when intending to study till late at night, drinking coffee was the most normal thing to do…

It was a counter-served café. A few tables were occupied by students, but it was mostly empty. She looked at the menu board and took out her wallet. A glimpse at the yawning emptiness of it made things easier. She didn't have much cash on her anyway. All that she could afford was either water or plain coffee.

She sighed. "Coffee please."

She took out a small turquoise wallet that showed patina. It was empty except for some cards and coins. He knew that summing up the salaries for her part times, the expanses for rent, tuition fees and costs of living she couldn't have much left. He would have offered to treat her, but this was business. He couldn't let himself get biased by her poverty.

Ghouls often were poor, especially when they were weak. Jobs meant risks and most ghouls had never even attended school. Strong Ghouls dared to rob and consume richer humans, but they often had well equipped bodyguards and those incidents were always pursued by the CCG. Their rate of success was at 70% in most wards.

He did not order anything though his throat was dry, and his excitement made him crave for some hot tea to calm down. They sat at a window. She took a sip, then blushed under his gaze. It was almost cute.

"So? What would you like to ask?" Was there a trembling in her voice?

"As you might know, the CCG investigates ghoul murders, we search for ghouls and exterminate them" He began. She nodded. "We also rely on citizen to inform us of unusual behaviour. We take this information very seriously."

The pause clearly made her uncomfortable. She nodded again. "Yes, that makes sense." Silence still.

Shinji hated interviews, for him it was still awkward as hell, especially with no partner around. A fight? Hell yes! Bring it on! Questioning shy girls and observations were not his cup of tea. He remembered his training.

 _Don't talk too much. Do not reveal details of your research. Make the suspect uncomfortable, but don't make it feel threatened. If necessary, confront the suspect. Appear calm and sovereign._

Lucy did not know what to do. She took another sip of the disgusting dust'n-water-soup they called coffee here and tried to concentrate on her breath. "D…Did the information involve me?" She asked at last.

"Well, what do you think? Have you done anything that could give someone reasons to report you." Despite of their warm colour, his eyes looked as cold as ice to her.

"Eeeeh?! Masaka! I don't know what you would count as suspicious, for what I know I have just unsuspectingly been living my life. I work at most days and study at night, I'm barely home and I haven't even met my band in weeks"

"Your band?" He wanted to slap himself. Why did he let that slip? They weren't mean to be talking about hobbies.

"Haaai." Her eyes sparked as she explained. "I play in a metal, hard rock, grunge band. We always dress pretty radical and dark. Some older people call us punks and are scared, but we are just silly students who dream of earning some bugs for ourselves without having to bow and scrape."

She smiled. "We call ourselves the Grail of the Dead and mostly do covers and stuff. Please follow us on Insta, Twitter and Facebook. "

"Maji? I- I see." Supressing a sigh he wished for someone more intimidating and strong at his side. Amon would have simply stared her to shut up, but he had made her talk as though this was a friend's chit chat.

To her it seemed like efforts hit a wall. His response was minimal. It didn't seem to work to play the cheerful cute girl, but that was the role she knew how to play from her part-time and she knew that it worked on most men. Maybe he as well just hid behind a professional facade. _Make him want to like you_. That was her plan. She had never been much of a defensive person. Offense was more of her style.

"That was not what I was pointing at. Mizuki-San, where have you been at night on October 29th?"

Coldness creeped its way from her hands and feet to her heart and tightened its grip around it.

 **Not. Good.** How much did he know?

"Uhm… that was a week ago right? Let me check my calendar." She took out her old OPhone with cracks in the screen and opened the calendar. She wasn't actually looking to find anything.

"Well… Nothing special. I worked as a call girl that night." That was half true. She faked a blush. "I accompanied a rich boy to a gala and smiled at people. Nothing more. I didn't feel well so I left as soon as I could and returned home around twelve I guess. I don't really remember…" Her voice faded. He did not seem convinced. His eyes told her that he could see through her lie.

"Is that so?" Wanting to end this quickly decided to simply confront her now. He thought it very unlikely that she would fight him in a Café and if she resorted to more lies he would be able to detect them.

"Then why were you seen with blood dripping off your clothes around one at night?"

He would never forget what happened then. The girl's features changed from surprise to deep pain. Her right hand gripped her left forearm. She lowered her head and closed her eyes.

"A man like you wouldn't understand."

Did he get her? He slowly moved his hand under the table closer to his quinque.

"Really? Then it doesn't look too good for you Mizuki-San"

She lifted her eyes and tears framed her cheeks. Tears of sorrow- not tears of rage or fear.

"You could never understand." Her voice rose and some of the other customers drew their heads towards them, curious what was going on.

"You could never understand how it feels like working for these filthy men all day!"

"What?" the hell was she talking about?

"You don't know how it feels to get called _baby_ and _sugar_ all the time and have them look at you with those eyes.

YOU have no idea how it feels when your self-respect gets stripped away by having to sell your dignity. How it feels when you work so hard and still get no respect. Get no acknowledgement.

NO! They just buy you for a day and show you off and you smile and be nice and then at the end of the day they act like they know you, like they own you.

But never again. I had enough! That dam* boy got what he deserved."

Her speech died in a sniff.

Shinji was utterly perplexed. "Mizuki-San I'm afraid... I don't understand."

She rolled up her left sleeve and revealed bandages wrapped around it.

"The blood was mine. I… The person I was escorting… He tried to… He got too familiar… and he was strong, so I took out my pocket knife… I always have it with me… but he got it and directed it against me. I managed to run somehow. But then I thought. Why not? The cut was deep. It was bleeding badly so I just sat down on a bench and let it drip. I do not know how much time passed until I realized that such a… man… would not ruin my life. I got home and treated myself. I was too ashamed to tell the police."

She viewed him through her tears. Being a horrible liar and a ghoul at the same time was a bad combination. But she didn't exactly lie. The amount of truth was just enough to even convince herself it was true. Tears had not been part of the plan. They had been evoked by the memory.

The silence built no wall between them. It seemed to shatter it. She could see his face become more and more compassionate. He obviously tried to keep his composure, but her plan had worked. Investigators often had a strong sense of justice. Appealing to it as the weak girl who had to be protected rather than suspected had been the right decision.

"I am deeply sorry for what happened to you." He would have doubted the story if he wouldn't know that she had worked as a call girl that night. Adding to that came the memory from how the men at the maid café she worked at behaved sometimes. It didn't seem too unlikely. She must have suffered through a lot, as far as he knew she didn't have any family left.

"Please forgive my persistence. We are just trying to erase some of the monsters in this world." He clenched his fist and remembered how his female colleagues at the CCG were treated sometimes.

He took a business card from his pocket and laid it on the table. "If you ever run into trouble again please do not hesitate to call me."

He was rewarded with a frown. "That man was no ghoul…I think. I wouldn't be alive otherwise… right?"

"Right." He scratched his temple. Wow, that was unprofessional. "I just thought… Well. Maybe I really have no idea how you feel, but maybe I can apologise somehow of having brought you in this situation."

She took the card without further comment.

"Also, and I am really sorry to bring this up again, would you please be so kind as to come to the CCG headquarter of the ward that your place of residence is located in? We will have to test your blood. Not that I don't believe you, it's just that this will close the file quickly and you will never be bothered by me or my colleagues again."

Lucy sighed. What a bother. One problem solved, new problem approaching. That was life.

* * *

Japanese lesson ;)

Masaka – (often used as exclamation) no way, really?, what?

Hai (written with more As to underline her excitemet) – Yes

Maji? - Really? Is that true? You kidding? (a rather colloquial phasing)


End file.
